Paramount First To Cross $1 Billion At 2010 Domestic Box Office

HOLLYWOOD, CA (June 29, 2010) – Paramount Pictures announced today the studio has crossed the $1 billion mark at the domestic box office, making it the first studio to accomplish the milestone this year. This marks the fourth year in a row that Paramount was the first studio to cross that plateau. Something no studio has done before. The studio currently holds the top spot in market share, with box office gross generated from five movies released thus far in 2010.

Based on figures through June 28th, Paramount has distributed four of 2010’s top ten grossing films. The year got off to a strong start with the Martin Scorsese thriller “Shutter Island” earning $128 million in the U.S., and also becoming the highest world-wide grossing film for the acclaimed director. Paramount followed with a string of strong releases, including Marvel Studio’s “Iron Man 2” ($306.9M) and DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon” ($215.4M) and “Shrek Forever After” ($229.4M).

“This milestone reflects the hard work of so many people,” said Brad Grey, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures. “I especially want to thank Rob Moore, Frederick Huntsberry, and Adam Goodman. We are all so proud of our teams, how they have worked together as well as with our partners. This commitment, coupled with the terrific creative talent we are in business with – Michael Bay, JJ Abrams, Martin Scorsese, Jon Favreau, Jeffrey Katzenberg and his DreamWorks Animation – have made these results possible.”

“We are all incredibly gratified to have achieved this again in 2010 and for our fourth year running,” said Rob Moore, Vice Chairman of Paramount Pictures. “We have released six films in the past four years which have surpassed $300 million domestically. As we look back, we’re proud of what our team has accomplished. As we look ahead, we’re excited at our prospects for the remainder of the year.”

Paramount’s upcoming releases include M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last Airbender” in 3D on July 1st, “Grease Sing-A-Long,” whose rollout begins July 8th, and Jay Roach’s “Dinner For Schmucks” on July 30th.